Apparatus for continuously heat-treating fibrous materials under pressure

ABSTRACT

An apparatus for continuously heat-treating various fibrous materials with a pressurized fluid, which is capable of continuously passing even knot parts or parts of varied thickness of the fibrous materials through the apparatus, wherein sealing parts and sealing fluid overflow chambers adjacent thereto are provided at both the ends of a heat-treating pressure chamber, comprises 1. EACH OF SAID SEALING PARTS CONSISTING OF A PAIR OF SEALING BOXES, 2. EACH OF SAID SEALING BOXES BEING PROVIDED WITH A NOZZLE FOR INJECTING A SEALING FLUID ON THE SIDE OF SAID SEALING BOX IN CONTACT WITH THE FIBROUS MATERIALS TO BE TREATED WHICH ARE RUNNING THROUGH THE CLEARANCE BETWEEN SAID PAIR OF SEALING BOXES, SAID NOZZLE HAVING A LINEAR SLIT OPENED PERPENDICULARLY TO THE TRAVELLING DIRECTION OF THE FIBROUS MATERIALS AND INCLINED TO THE FIBROUS MATERIALS AT AN ANGLE OF 30* TO 90* IN THE DIRECTION FROM A POSITION REMOTE FROM THE HEAT-TREATING PRESSURE CHAMBER TOWARD A POSITION CLOSE THERETO, 3. AT LEAST ONE OF SAID PAIR OF SEALING BOXES BEING SLIDABLE BY MEANS OF A SLIDING MEANS WHEREBY THE CLEARANCE BETWEEN THE SURFACES OF SAID SEALING BOXES IN CONTACT WITH THE FIBROUS MATERIALS IS QUICKLY ADJUSTED CORRESPONDINGLY TO SUDDEN CHANGE IN THE THICKNESS OF THE TRAVELLING FIBROUS MATERIALS, AND 4. THE SLIDABLE SEALING BOX BEING HOUSED IN A CASING PART WHOSE LATERAL WIDTH IS LARGER OR SMALLER THAN THE LATERAL WIDTH OF THE HEAT-TREATING PRESSURE CHAMBER THROUGH A SMALL CLEARANCE FROM THE CASING PART.

United States Patent 1 Tanaka et a1,

[ Dec. 23, 1975 APPARATUS FOR CONTINUOUSLY HEAT-TREATING FIBROUSMATERIALS UNDER PRESSURE [75] Inventors: Kazue Tanaka; Katsuo Yamamoto;

Hisao Nakamura; Eiichi Wakita, all of Fujishi, Japan [73] Assignee:Asahi Kasei Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha, Osaka, Japan [22] Filed: June 19,1974 [21] Appl. No.: 480,859

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Primary Examinerl-larvey C.Hornsby Assistant Examiner-Philip R. Coe

Attorney, Agent, or FirmArmstrong, Nikaido & Wegner [57] ABSTRACT Anapparatus for continuously heat-treating various fibrous materials witha pressurized fluid, which is capable of continuously passing even knotparts or parts of varied thickness of the fibrous materials through theapparatus, wherein sealing parts and sealing fluid overflow chambersadjacent thereto are provided at both the ends of a heat-treatingpressure chamber, comprises 1. each of said sealing parts consisting ofa pair of sealing boxes,

2. each of said sealing boxes being provided with a nozzle for injectinga sealing fluid on the side of said sealing box in contact with thefibrous materials to be treated which are running through the clearancebetween said pair of sealing boxes, said nozzle having a linear slitopened perpendicularly to the travelling direction of the fibrousmaterials and inclined to the fibrous materials at an angle of 30 to 90in the direction from a position remote from the heat-treating pressurechamber toward a position close thereto,

3. at least one of said pair of sealing boxes being slidable by means ofa sliding means whereby the clearance between the surfaces of saidsealing boxes in contact with the fibrous materials is quickly adjustedcorrespondingly to sudden change in the thickness of the travellingfibrous materials, and

4. the slidable sealing box being housed in a casing part whose lateralwidth is larger or smaller than the lateral width of the heat-treatingpressure chamber through a small clearance from the casing part.

10 Claims, 18 Drawing Figures I0 I R,

US. Patent Dec. 23, 1975 Sheet 1 of7 3,927,540

US. Patent Dec. 23, 1975 Sheet 2 of7 3,927,540

US. Patent Dec.23, 1975 Sheet3of7 3,927,540

FIG. 6

FIG.4

FIG. 5

US. Patent Dec. 23, 1975 Sheet 4 of7 3,927,540

US. Patent Dec. 23, 1975 Sheet 5 of7 3,927,540

FIG. 9

FiG. ll

FIG. IO

FIG. I3

US. Patent Dec. 23, 1975 Sheet60f7 3,927,540

Sheet 7 of 7 3,927,540

FIG. I6

FIG. I?

APPARATUS FOR CONTINUOUSLY HEAT-TREATING FIBROUS MATERIALS UNDERPRESSURE DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to anapparatus for continuously heat-treating various fibrous materials suchas filaments, tows, strands, silvers, or cloths such as knitted or wovenfabrics, by continuously heat-stretching 1 or heat-treating the fibrousmaterials in a fluid under pressure, thereby endowing desired physicalproperties or characteristics to the fibrous materials or processing thefibrous materials, and more particularly to the apparatus capable ofcontinuously passing knot parts or parts of varied thickness of thefibrous materials through the apparatus.

It is well known that a roller seal, labyrinth seal, lip seal, etc. aretypical of the sealing device for the apparatus for continuouslyheat-treating the fibrous materials under pressure, but these sealingdevices have both merits and demerits, and are particularly difficult tobe used in stretching tow fibers at a high speed.

We have studied sealing systems which are applicable to everyheat-treatment under pressure including such stretching at a high speedunder high pressure, and have already found that a sealing systemof-fluid injection type is an excellent one, and invented an apparatus(Japanese Patent Application laid-open No. 42180/73; U.S.Pat. No.3,783,649).

However, the fibrous materials to be treated have not always anunlimited length, but a limited length, and in the most cases havebroken parts. A method for passing the fibrous materials withoutconnecting the broken parts is not preferable, because much time andlabor are required for restarting to heat-treat the successive fibrousmaterials following the broken parts, and the yield of the heat-treatedproduct is greatly lowered. Therefore, it is necessary to connect thebroken parts. Another method is also available for making the thicknessof the fibrous materials constant, for example, by sewing-up, adhesion,melt-adhesion, etc. without bringing about any change in thickness suchas knot parts, etc. at connecting parts of the fibrous materials, andthen passing the fibrous materials through between the sealing parts ofthe apparatus. Said method has an advantage of keeping a clearancebetween the sealing parts constant, but requires considerable time inadhesion as well as special tools. Furthermore, said method has adisadvantage of peeling-off of the connected parts at an elevatedtemperature under high tension owing to incomplete adhesion, and it hasbeen found as the result of the successive studies that the developmentof an apparatus capable of positively passing even knot parts and partsof varied thickness of the fibrous mate-, rials through the apparatus isnecessary.

We have made further study on an apparatus for continuouslyheat-treating fibrous materials under pressure, which can solve all ofsaid disadvantages by positively passing the knot parts and parts ofvaried thickness of the fibrous materials, especially an apparatus forstretching tows at a high speed under a high pressure, and have found anapparatus of the present invention.

The present invention provides an apparatus for continuouslyheat-treating fibrous materials with a pressurized fluid, whereinsealing parts and sealing fluid overflow chambers adjacent thereto areprovided at both 2 the ends of a heat-treating pressure chamber, whichcomprises:

l. each of said sealing parts consisting of a pair of sealing boxes,

2. each of said sealing boxes being provided with (a) a nozzle forinjecting a sealing fluid on the side of said sealing box in contactwith the fibrous materials to be treated which are running through theclearance between said pair of sealing boxes, said nozzle having alinear slit opened perpendicularly to the travelling direction of thefibrous materials so as to inject the sealing fluid uniformly in thetransversal direction and inclined to the fibrous materials at an angleof 30 to in the direction from a position remote from the heat-treatingpressure chamber toward a position close thereto, and (b) a sealingfluid inlet on the side opposite to said nozzle, sealing fluid injectedthrough said nozzle being overflown into each of said overflow chamberswhile preventing the pressurized fluid from leaking out of theheat-treating chamber,

3. at least one of said pair of sealing boxes being slidable by means ofa sliding means whereby the clearance between the surfaces of saidsealing boxes in contact with the fibrous materials is quickly adjustedcorrespondingly to sudden change in the thickness of the travellingfibrous materials, and

4. the slidable sealing box being housed in a casing part whose lateralwidth is larger or smaller than the lateral width of the heat-treatingpressure chamber through a small clearance from the casing part.

In the present apparatus, sealing boxes having linear nozzles aresymmetrically provided at both the inlet and outlet sealing parts of theheat-treating chamber for the fibrous materials so as to put the fibrousmaterials between a pair of the sealing boxes, and to form a clearancesufficient for passing the fibrous materials between the pair of thesealing boxes. The fibrous materials are made to pass through theclearance, while a sealing fluid supplied to the sealing boxes isinjected from the linear nozzles of the sealing box. Leakage of thepressure fluid from the heat-treating chamber to the outside isprevented by an injecting and pinching force of the sealing fluid due toits static pressure. The sealing fluid is pushed out of the sealingparts into the outside sealing fluid overflow chambers by the insidepressure of the heat-treating chamber, and is discharged to the outsideor recycled for reuse without any intrusion into the heat-treatingchamber. Furthermore, in the present apparatus, the sealing boxes can bemoved by sliding by means of a driving device when the knot parts orparts of varied thickness of the fibrous materials are passed throughbetween the sealing boxes, and at this time the clearance between thesealing boxes is widened thereby. Therefore, even the knot parts and theparts of varied thickness can be continuously passed through the presentapparatus smoothly.

Furthermore, in the present apparatus, small clearances are requiredbetween the side surfaces of the slidable sealing boxes and the sidesurfaces of a casing for the sealing boxes to make the sealing boxesmovable. In the present apparatus, these clearances are in a projectedor recessed state, and thus a leakage of the pressure fluid from theheat-treating chamber through these small clearances can be prevented.

Therefore, even the knot parts and the parts of varied thickness of thefibrous materials can be continuously passed through the presentapparatus with a good sealing effect.

Another advantage of the present apparatus is that the fibrous materialsare passed through a clearance between a pair of nozzles at the sealingpart, and consequently never undergo any friction or damage by a solidmaterial, as will be described below, and thus the fibrous materials canbe passed through the apparatus easily at a high speed. Continuous heattreatment under pressure can be efficiently carried out in the presentapparatus.

Now, the present invention will be explained in detail by way. of theaccompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional schematic view of the entire apparatus ofthe present invention for continuously heat-treating fibrous materialsunder pressure.

FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectional view of a part including an inletsealing part of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view along the line III-III of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view along the line IVIV of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a sealing part showing anotherembodiment of sealing method according to the present invention.

- FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view along the line VIVI of FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is a partial cross-sectional view of a sealing device providedwith a packing for adjusting the lateral width of a clearance B at thesealing part of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a partial cross-sectional view along the line VIIIVIII of FIG.7.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view along the line IX-IX of FIG. 8.

FIGS. 10 13 are cross-sectional views showing sealing structures to beused in place of the part of FIG. 4.

FIG. 14 is a partial cross-sectional view of a sealing device providedwith penetrating pipes.

FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view along the line XV-XV of FIG. 14.

FIG. 16' is a cross-sectional schematic view of an outlet part providedwith water draining rods.

FIG. 17 is a cross-sectional schematic view of the outlet part providedwith water-draining plate, that is, a modification of FIG. 16.

FIG. 18 is a view showing one concrete example of the water-drainingplate.

In FIG. 1, the present apparatus consists of a shell pipe 1, aheat-treating chamber 2, sealing parts 3, sealing boxes 4 and 4', aircylinders 5 and sealing fluid overflow chambers 6. The sealing parts 3,sealing boxes 4 and 4', air cylinders 5 and sealing fluid overflowchambers 6 are symmetrically provided at both the inlet and outlet partsof the present apparatus. Fibrous materials 7 to be treated aresuccessively passed from feeding rollers 8 through a guide hole 9, and aclearance B between the sealing boxes 4 and 4', heat-treated in theheat-treating chamber 2, passed through the clearance and the guide holeof the similar structures at the outlet part, and sent to the successivestep through withdrawing rollers 10.

Heat-treating pressure fluid is passed into the heattreating chamber 2from a pressure fluid inlet pipe 11. A sealing fluid, preferably sealingwater, is led to the sealing boxes 4 and 4' from a liquid-feeding pump12 through sealing fluid inlet pipes 13 and 13 (the sealing fluid inletpipe fixed to the movable sealing box being partially composed of aflexible tube 14), and injected from nozzles A and A. Sealing isestablished by a pinching force due to the static water head of thesealing fluids symmetrically injected at a high speed from both theupper and lower sides, and the effluent sealing fluid flows into thesealing fluid overflow chamber 6 under the atmospheric pressure owing tothe inside pressure of the heat-treating chamber, and is recovered intoa storage tank 16 therefrom through a drain pipe 15. The storage tank 16is such a tank that can withstand the atmospheric pressure, and may beprovided with a heater 17, a sealing fluid make-up pipe 18 and a ventpipe 19, if necessary.

Blind patches 20 are provided at both the ends of the apparatus to formthe sealing fluid overflow chambers 6, and the sealing fluid isprevented from the leakage to the outside thereby. The blind patches 20have guide holes 9, through which the fibrous materials can be passed,and which can control the width of the passing fibrous materials. Ifnecessary, a swing guide plate 21 is fixed to the blind patch in aswingable state by means of a hinge, etc., and the fibrous materials,especially the knot parts, can pass through the guide hole by pushingthe swing guide plate 21 open.

As shown in FIG. 2, the respective sealing fluid injection nozzles A andA are preferably kept at an angle of 30 to to the direction of thefibrous materials 7, so that the sealing fluid can be injected towardthe direction of the heat-treating chamber. This is preferable in viewof the sealing effect. At an angle of less than 30, the pinching forceof the injected sealing fluid will be smaller, and thus the sealingeffect will be poor. In carrying out operation of the present apparatus,it is preferable in the sealing effect to keep a clearance B between thesealing boxes 4 and 4 to take a distance of the thickness of the fibrousmaterials 7 plus 3 7 mm. That is to say, if the additional distance isless than 3 mm, a frictional damage of the fibrous materials 7 by thesealing boxes 4 and 4' will be serious, and if the additional distanceis more than 7 mm, the sealing effect is lowered.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the movable sealing box 4 is inserted into acasing part 22 having a lateral width projected over or recessed fromthe lateral width of the inside walls of the shell pipe 1, with a smallclearance C between the inside wall of the casing part and the side wallof the sealing box. The sealing box 4 is connected to an air cylinder 5attached onto an air cylinder support frame 23 fixed to the casing part22. Therefore, when the air cylinder 5 is actuated, the sealing box 4smoothly slides along the inside walls of the casing part 22. In FIGS. 2and 3, the upper end of the movable sealing box 4 is of flange type, andthe flange surface is pressed down to the casing part by force of theair cylinder 5 through an elastic sealing material, for example, O-ring24, placed between the flange surface and the air cylinder.

The lower end of the non-movable sealing box 4 may be fixed to the shellpipe 1 by fixing the flange part thereof to the casing part by bolts orby welding or the sealing box 4' may be integrally prepared togetherwith the casing, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3.

In the apparatus shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the clearance B between thesealing boxes 4 and 4' is normally kept to a desired distance during theoperation by means of the air cylinder 5, while interposing thetravelling fibrous materials 7 between the sealing boxes, and thepressure leakage through the clearance B at the sealing part isprevented by the sealing water injected from the nozzles A and A, andthe pressure leakage from the upper end of the movable sealing box 4 isprevented by an O-ring 24 inserted between the flange surface of thesealing box 4 pressed down by the air cylinder 5, and the casing part22. Furthermore, the pressure leakage from the side surfaces of thesealing box 4, which is most difficult to prevent in the movable sealingbox, can be side-sealed owing to a kind of labyrinth effect due to thenon-linear, that is, projected or recessed small clearances C on thesides of the sealing box.

When a knot part larger than the vertical distance of the clearance Bbetween the sealing boxes reaches the sealing part, the movable sealingbox 4 is elevated by actuation of the air cylinder 5 to enlarge theclearance B between the sealing boxes and pass the knot part throughtherebetween. When it is desirous to adjust the minimum verticaldistance of the clearance B between the sealing boxes, other liner,washer, etc. than the O-ring may be placed between the flange surface ofthe sealing box and the casing together with the O-ring.

As another method for preventing the pressure leakage from the upper endof the movable sealing box 4, both casing part D for the movable sealingbox 4 in contact with the heat-treating chamber and the casing part E incontact with the sealing fluid overflow chamber may be modified to beprojected toward the running fibrous materials, and packings 25consisting of piston rings or gland packings are inserted between thecontact surfaces of the movable sealing box 4 with the projected casingparts to prevent the pressure leakage from the upper end of the movablesealing box, as shown in FIGS. 5 and -6. Of course, the packings 25 maybe inserted around the whole of the surfaces of the movable sealing box4, as shown in FIG. 6.

Furthermore, when the fibrous materials having a lateral width smallerthan the lateral width of the clearance B between the sealing boxes 4and 4' are heattreated, packings 26 and 26' are provided at both theends of the clearance B between the sealing boxes, as shown in FIGS. 7to 9, and the lateral width of the fibrous materials 7 can be adjustedthereby, and the pressure leakage through the clearances at both theends can be prevented. The minimum vertical distance of the clearance Bbetween the sealing boxes 4 and 4' can be also made constant by means ofsaid packings 26 and 26'.

The small clearance C between the inside wall of the casing part 22 andthe side wall of the movable sealing box 4 may take any shape, exceptthe straight linear shape. It may be in a concave or convex or curvedshape, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 10-13. However, it is particularlypreferable in view of the structure of the apparatus that the smallclearance C takes such a structure as shown in FIGS. 4 or 10.

When the inside pressure of the heat-treating chamher is very high,penetrating pipes 27 are provided through the casing part 22, as shownin FIGS. 14 and 15, and an auxiliary sealing fluid under a definitepressure, for example, water or air, is introduced from the outsidethrough the penetrating pipes'The sealing effect can be thereby much"assured on the sides of the movable sealing box 4. With an increase inthe travelling speed of the fibrous materials, an amount of the sealingfluid attached to and entrained by the fibrous materials is increased.To prevent the sealing fluid from the scattering toward the outside fromthe guide hole 9, the length of the sealin'gflui'd overflow chamber 6must be increased. However, as shown in FIGS. 16 and 17,

the length of the sealing fluid overflow chamber 6 can be shortened byproviding water-draining rods 28 or water-draining plates 29 in contactwith the fibrous materials 7 so that the running fibrous materials 7 maybe interposed between these water-draining rods or plates. When thewater-draining plates 29 are used, it is necessary to provide an opening30 on its lower part to improve the flow of the sealing water, as shownin FIG. 18.

In the apparatus illustrated above, one of the sealing boxes is ofmovable type, but of course both the sealing boxes can be made movable.The actuating device may be of a spring type, a hydraulic cylinder type,an oil pressure cylinder type, etc. in place of the air cylinder. Whenhot water or cold water is used as the sealing fluid in the case theordinarily used steam is used as the pressure fluid, it is not necessaryto separate these two fluids in recycling the sealing fluid, even ifthey are mixed together, and also a good sealing effect can be obtained.

According to the present apparatus for continuously heat-treating thefibrous materials under pressure, the heating pressure medium within theheat-treating chamber can be prevented from leakage to the outside ofthe apparatus by a sealing system quite different from the conventionalones, and the fibrous materials can be continuously heat-treated underpressure at a high speed without any damage to the fibrous materials.Further, even if there is a change in the thickness of the fibrousmaterials, the vertical distance of the sealing clearance can besmoothly adjusted, and the continuous heat treatment can be assuredwithout any interruption of the travelling of the fibrous materials. Theoperating efficiency and the yield of the product can be much moreincreased in the present apparatus than in the conventional apparatus,and further there are such advantages as very simple structure of theapparatus, and consequently less disorder and good maintenance.

What is claimed is:

1. An apparatus for continuously heat-treating fibrous materials with apressurized fluid, which apparatus is capable of continuously passingknot parts or parts of varied thickness of fibrous materialstherethrough and in which sealing parts and sealing fluid overflowchambers adjacent thereto are provided at each end of a heat-treatingpressure chamber, each of said sealing parts being positioned betweenthe heattreating chamber and a respective overflow chamber,comprising 1. a chamber for treating fibrous materials with a Ipressurized fluid, 2. each of said sealing parts comprising a pair ofsealing boxes each of said sealing boxes being provided with a. a nozzlefor injecting a sealing fluid into said sealing box in contact with thefibrous materials to be treated which are passing through a clearancebetween said pair of sealing boxes, said nozzle having a linear slitopened perpendicularly to a travelling direction of the fibrousmaterials so as to inject the sealing fluid uniformly in a transversedirection and being inclined to the fibrous materials at an angle of 30to in a direction from a position remote from the heattreating pressurechamber toward a position close thereto, and

b. a sealing fluid inlet on a side opposite to said nozzle, sealingfluid being injected through said nozzle and being overflown into eachof said overflow chambers while preventing the pressurized fluid fromleaking out of the heat-treating chamber, 3. a means for sliding atleast one of said sealing boxes in each pair to permit the clearancebetween the sealing boxes in contact with the fibrous material to beadjusted to correspond to a sudden change in the thickness of thetravelling fibrous materials, and 4. an individual casing for housingeach slidable sealing box through a small clearance between the slidablesealing box and the casing, each casing having a lateral width differingfrom that of the heat-treating pressure chamber to provide a nonlinearchannel against the passage of the pressurized fluid. 2. An apparatusfor continuously heat-treating fibrous materials with a pressurizedfluid, which apparatus is capable of continuously passing knot parts orparts of varied thickness of fibrous materials therethrough and in whichsealing parts and sealing fluid overflow chambers adjacent thereto areprovided at each end of a heat-treating pressure chamber, each of saidsealing parts being positioned between the heattreating chamber and arespective overflow chamber, comprising 1. a chamber for treatingfibrous materials with pressurized fluid, 2. each of said sealing partscomprising a pair of sealing boxes, each of said sealing boxes beingprovided with a. a nozzle for injecting a sealing fluid into saidsealing box in contact with the fibrous materials to be treated whichare passing through a clearance between said pair of sealing boxes, saidnozzle having a linear slit opened perpendicularly to a travellingdirection of the fibrous materials so as to inject the sealing fluiduniformly in a transverse direction and being inclined to the fibrousmaterials at an angle of 30 to 90 in a direction from a position remotefrom the heattreating pressure chamber toward a position close thereto,and

b. a sealing fluid inlet in a side opposite to said nozzle, sealingfluid being injected through said nozzle and being overflown into eachof said overflow chambers while preventing the pressurized fluid fromleaking out of the heabtreating chamber,

3. a means for sliding at least one of said sealing boxes in each pairto permit the clearance between the sealing boxes in contact with thefibrous materials to be adjusted to correspond to a sudden change in thethickness of the travelling fibrous materials,

4. an individual casing for housing each slidable sealing box through asmall clearance between the slidable sealing box and the casing, eachcasing having a lateral width differing from that of the heat-treatingpressure chamber to provide a nonlinear channel against the passage ofthe pressurized fluid, and

5. packing materials being inserted between each slidable sealing box,and its casing to control the lateral width of the fibrous materials.

3. An apparatus for continuously heat-treating fibrous materials with apressurized fluid, which apparatus is capable of continuously passingknot parts or parts of varied thickness of fibrous materialstherethrough and in which sealing parts and sealing fluid overflowchambers adjacent thereto are provided at each end of a heat-treatingpressure chamber, each of said sealing parts being positioned betweenthe heattreating chamber and a respective overflow chamber,comprising 1. a chamber for treating fibrous materials with apressurized fluid, 2. each of said sealing parts comprising a pair ofsealing boxes each of said sealing boxes being provided with a. a nozzlefor injecting a sealing fluid into said sealing box in contact with thefibrous materials to be treated which are passing through a clearancebetween said pair of sealing boxes, said nozzle having a linear slitopened perpendicularly to a travelling direction of the fibrousmaterials so as to inject the sealing fluid uniformly in a transversedirection and being inclined to the fibrous materials at an angle of 30to in a direction from a position remote from the heattreating pressurechamber toward a position close thereto, and

b. a sealing fluid inlet on a side opposite to said nozzle, sealingfluid being injected through said nozzle and being overflown into eachof said overflow chambers while preventing the pressurized fluid fromleaking out of the heat-treating chamber,

3. a means for sliding at least one of said sealing boxes in each pairto permit the clearance between the sealing boxes in contact with thefibrous materials to be adjusted to correspond to a sudden change in htethickness of the travelling fibrous materials,

4. an individual casing for housing each slidable sealing box through asmall clearance between the slidable sealing box and the casing, eachcasing having a lateral width differing from that of the heat-treatingpressure chamber to provide a nonlinear channel against the passage ofthe pressurized fluid, and

5. each casing being provided with openings for injecting anotherauxiliary sealing fluid from the outside.

4. An apparatus for continuously heat-treating fibrous materials with apressurized fluid, which apparatus is capable of continuously passingknot parts or parts of varied thickness of fibrous materialstherethrough and in which sealing parts and sealing fluid overflowchambers adjacent thereto are provided at each end of a heat-treatingpressure, each of said sealing parts being positioned between theheat-treating chamber and a respective overflow chamber, comprismg l. achamber for treating fibrous materials with a pressurized fluid,

2. each of said sealing parts comprising a pair of sealing boxes each ofsaid sealing boxes being provided with a. a nozzle for injecting asealing fluid into said sealing box in contact with the fibrousmaterials to be treated which are passing through a clearance betweensaid pair of sealing boxes, said nozzle having a linear slit openedperpendicularly to a travelling direction of the fibrous mate- 9 rialsso as to inject the sealing fluid uniformly in a transverse directionand being inclined to the fibrous materials at an angle of 30 to 90 in adirection from a position remote from the heattreating pressure chambertoward a position close thereto, and b. a sealing fluid inlet on a sideopposite to said nozzle, sealing fluid being injected through saidnozzle and being overflown into each of said overflow chambers whilepreventing the pressurized fluid from leaking out of the heat-treatingchamber, 3. a means for sliding at least one of said sealing boxes ineach pair to permit the clearance between the sealing boxes in contactwith the fibrous materials to be adjusted to correspond to a suddenchange in the thickness of the travelling fibrous materials,

4. and individual casing for housing each slidable sealing box through asmall clearance between the slidable sealing box and the casing, eachcasing having a lateral width differing from that of the heat-treatingpressure chamber to provide a nonlinear channel against the passage ofthe pressurized fluid,

5. packing materials being inserted between each slidable sealing boxand its casing to control the lateral width of the fibrous materials,and

6. each casing being provided with openings for injecting anotherauxiliary sealing fluid from the outside.

5. An apparatus for continuously heat-treating fibrous materials with apressurized fluid, which apparatus is capable of continuously passingknot parts or parts of varied thickness of fibrous materialstherethrough and in which sealing parts and sealing fluid overflowchambers adjacent thereto are provided at each end of a heat-treatingpressure chamber, each of said sealing parts being positioned betweenthe heattreating chamber and a respective overflow chamber, comprisingl-a. a chamber for treating fibrous materials with a pressurized fluid,,

a. a nozzle for injecting a sealing fluid into said sealing box incontact with the fibrous materials to be treated which are passingthrough a clearance between said pair of sealing boxes, said nozzlehaving a linear slit opened perpendicularly to a travelling direction ofthe fibrous materials so as to inject the sealing fluid uniformly in atransverse direction and being inclined to the fibrous materials at anangle of 30 to 90 in a direction from a position remote from theheattreating pressure chamber toward a position close thereto, and

b. a sealing fluid inlet on a side opposite to said nozzle, sealingfluid being injected through said nozzle and being overflown into eachof said overflow chambers while preventing the pressurized fluid fromleaking out of the heat-treating chamber,

1-0. a means for sliding at least one of said sealing boxes in each pairto permit the clearance between the sealing boxes in contact with thefibrous materials to be adjusted to correspond to a sudden change in thethickness of the travelling fibrous materials,

l-d. an individual casing for housing each slidable sealing box througha small clearance between the slidable sealing box and the casing, eachcasing having a lateral width differing from that of the heat-treatingpressure chamber to provide a nonlinear channel against the passage ofthe pressurized fluid, and

2. water-draining rods or plates being provided in contact with theupper and lower sides of the travelling fibrous materials in the sealingfluid overflow chambers.

6. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said sliding means isactuated by an air cylinder.

7. An apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said sliding means isactuated by an air cylinder.

8. An apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said sliding means isactuated by an air cylinder.

9. An apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said sliding means isactuated by an air cylinder.

10. An apparatus according to claim 5, wherein said l-b. a pair ofsealing boxes, each of said sealing boxes sliding means is actuated byan air cylinder.

being provided with

1. An apparatus for continuously heat-treating fibrous materials with apressurized fluid, which apparatus is capable of continuously passingknot parts or parts of varied thickness of fibrous materialstherethrough and in which sealing parts and sealing fluid overflowchambers adjacent thereto are provided at each end of a heat-treatingpressure chamber, each of said sealing parts being positioned betweenthe heat-treating chamber and a respective overflow chamber,comprising
 1. a chamber for treating fibrous materials with apressurized fluid,
 2. each of said sealing parts comprising a pair ofsealing boxes each of said sealing boxes being provided with a. a nozzlefor injecting a sealing fluid into said sealing box in contact with thefibrous materials to be treated which are passing through a clearancebetween said pair of sealing boxes, said nozzle having a linear slitopened perpendicularly to a travelling direction of the fibrousmaterials so as to inject the sealing fluid uniformly in a transversedirection and being inclined to the fibrous materials at an angle of 30*to 90* in a direction from a position remote from the heat-treatingpressure chamber toward a position close thereto, and b. a sealing fluidinlet on a side opposite to said nozzle, sealing fluid being injectedthrough said nozzle and being overflown into each of said overflowchambers while preventing the pressurized fluid from leaking out of theheat-treating chamber,
 3. a means for sliding at least one of saidsealing boxes in each pair to permit the clearance between the sealingboxes in contact with the fibrous material to be adjusted to correspondto a sudden change in the thickness of the travelling fibrous materials,and
 4. an individual casing for housing each slidable sealing boxthrough a small clearance between the slidable sealing box and thecasing, each casing having a lateral width differing from that of theheat-treating pressure chamber to provide a nonlinear channel againstthe passage of the pressurized fluid.
 2. each of said sealing partscomprising a pair of sealing boxes, each of said sealing boxes beingprovided with a. a nozzle for injecting a sealing fluid into saidsealing box in contact with the fibrous materials to be treated whichare passing through a clearance between said pair of sealing boxes, saidnozzle having a linear slit opened perpendicularly to a travellingdirection of the fibrous materials so as to inject the sealing fluiduniformly in a transverse direction and being inclined to the fibrousmaterials at an angle of 30* to 90* in a direction from a positionremote from the heat-treating pressure chamber toward a position closethereto, and b. a sealing fluid inlet in a side opposite to said nozzle,sealing fluid being injected through said nozzle and being overflowninto each of said overflow chambers while preventing the pressurizedfluid from leaking out of the heat-treating chamber,
 2. An apparatus forcontinuously heat-treating fibrous materials with a pressurized fluid,which apparatus is capable of continuouSly passing knot parts or partsof varied thickness of fibrous materials therethrough and in whichsealing parts and sealing fluid overflow chambers adjacent thereto areprovided at each end of a heat-treating pressure chamber, each of saidsealing parts being positioned between the heat-treating chamber and arespective overflow chamber, comprising
 2. each of said sealing partscomprising a pair of sealing boxes each of said sealing boxes beingprovided with a. a nozzle for injecting a sealing fluid into saidsealing box in contact with the fibrous materials to be treated whichare passing through a clearance between said pair of sealing boxes, saidnozzle having a linear slit opened perpendicularly to a travellingdirection of the fibrous materials so as to inject the sealing fluiduniformly in a transverse direction and being inclined to the fibrousmaterials at an angle of 30* to 90* in a direction from a positionremote from the heat-treating pressure chamber toward a position closethereto, and b. a sealing fluid inlet on a side opposite to said nozzle,sealing fluid being injected through said nozzle and being overflowninto each of said overflow chambers while preventing the pressurizedfluid from leaking out of the heat-treating chamber,
 2. each of saidsealing parts comprising a pair of sealing boxes each of said sealingboxes being provided with a. a nozzle for injecting a sealing fluid intosaid sealing box in contact with the fibrous materials to be treatedwhich are passing through a clearance between said pair of sealingboxes, said nozzle having a linear slit opened perpendicularly to atravelling direction of the fibrous materials so as to inject thesealing fluid uniformly in a transverse direction and being inclined tothe fibrous materials at an angle of 30* to 90* in a direction from aposition remote from the heat-treating pressure chamber toward aposition close thereto, and b. a sealing fluid inlet on a side oppositeto said nozzle, sealing fluid being injected through said nozzle andbeing overflown into each of said overflow chambers while preventing thepressurized fluid from leaking out of the heat-treating chamber, 2.water-draining rods or plates being provided in contact with the upperand lower sides of the travelling fibrous materials in the sealing fluidoverflow chambers.
 2. each of said sealing parts comprising a pair ofsealing boxes each of said sealing boxes being provided with a. a nozzlefor injecting a sealing fluid into said sealing box in contact with thefibrous materials to be treated which are passing through a clearancebetween said pair of sealing boxes, said nozzle having a linear slitopened perpendicularly to a travelling direction of the fibrousmaterials so as to inject the sealing fluid uniformly in a transversedirection and being inclined to the fibrous materials at an angle of 30*to 90* in a direction from a position remote from the heat-treatingpressure chamber toward a position close thereto, and b. a sealing fluidinlet on a side opposite to said nozzle, sealing fluid being injectedthrough said nozzle and being overflown into each of said overflowchambers while preventing the pressurized fluid from leaking out of theheat-treating chamber,
 3. a means for sliding at least one of saidsealing boxes in each pair to permit the clearance between the sealingboxes in contact with the fibrous materials to be adjusted to correspondto a sudden change in the thickness of the travelling fibrous materials,3. An apparatus for continuously heat-treating fibrous materials with apressurized fluid, which apparatus is capable of continuously passingknot parts or parts of varied thickness of fibrous materialstherethrough and in which sealing parts and sealing fluid overflowchambers adjacent thereto are provided at each end of a heat-treatingpressure chamber, each of said sealing parts being positioned betweenthe heat-treating chamber and a respective overflow chamber, comprising3. a means for sliding at least one of said sealing boxes in each pairto permit the clearance between the sealing boxes in contact with thefibrous materials to be adjusted to correspond to a sudden change in thethickness of the travelling fibrous materials,
 3. a means for sliding atleast one of said sealing boxes in each pair to permit the clearancebetween the sealing boxes in contact with the fibrous materials to beadjusted to correspond to a sudden change in hte thickness of thetravelling fibrous materials,
 3. a means for sliding at least one ofsaid sealing boxes in each pair to permit the clearance between thesealing boxes in contact with the fibrous material to be adjusted tocorrespond to a sudden change in the thickness of the travelling fibrousmaterials, and
 4. an individual casing for housing each slidable sealingbox through a small clearance between the slidable sealing box and thecasing, each casing having a lateral width differing from that of theheat-treating pressure chamber to provide a non-linear channel againstthe passage of the pressurized fluid.
 4. an individual casing forhousing each slidable sealing box through a small clearance between theslidaBle sealing box and the casing, each casing having a lateral widthdiffering from that of the heat-treating pressure chamber to provide anon-linear channel against the passage of the pressurized fluid, and 4.an individual casing for housing each slidable sealing box through asmall clearance between the slidable sealing box and the casing, eachcasing having a lateral width differing from that of the heat-treatingpressure chamber to provide a non-linear channel against the passage ofthe pressurized fluid, and
 4. and individual casing for housing eachslidable sealing box through a small clearance between the slidablesealing box and the casing, each casing having a lateral width differingfrom that of the heat-treating pressure chamber to provide a non-linearchannel against the passage of the pressurized fluid,
 4. An apparatusfor continuously heat-treating fibrous materials with a pressurizedfluid, which apparatus is capable of continuously passing knot parts orparts of varied thickness of fibrous materials therethrough and in whichsealing parts and sealing fluid overflow chambers adjacent thereto areprovided at each end of a heat-treating pressure, each of said sealingparts being positioned between the heat-treating chamber and arespective overflow chamber, comprising
 5. An apparatus for continuouslyheat-treating fibrous materials with a pressurized fluid, whichapparatus is capable of continuously passing knot parts or parts ofvaried thickness of fibrous materials therethrough and in which sealingparts and sealing fluid overflow chambers adjacent thereto are providedat each end of a heat-treating pressure chamber, each of said sealingparts being positioned between the heat-treating chamber and arespective overflow chamber, comprising 1-a. a chamber for treatingfibrous materials with a pressurized fluid, 1-b. a pair of sealingboxes, each of said sealing boxes being provided with a. a nozzle forinjecting a sealing fluid into said sealing box in contact with thefibrous materials to be treated which are passing through a clearancebetween said pair of sealing boxes, said nozzle having a linear slitopened perpendicularly to a travelling direction of the fibrousmaterials so as to inject the sealing fluid uniformly in a transversedirection and being inclined to the fibrous materials at an angle of 30*to 90* in a direction from a position remote from the heat-treatingpressure chamber toward a position close thereto, and b. a sealing fluidinlet on a side opposite to said nozzle, sealing fluid being injectedthrough said nozzle and being overflown into each of said overflowchambers while preventing the pressurized fluid from leaking out of theheat-treating chamber, 1-c. a means for sliding at least one of saidsealing boxes in each pair to permit the clearance between the sealingboxes in contact with the fibrous materials to be adjusted to correspondto a sudden change in the thickness of the travelling fibrous materials,1-d. an individual casing for housing each slidable sealing box througha small clearance between the slidable sealing box and the casing, eachcasing having a lateral width differing from that of the heat-treatingpressure chamber to provide a non-linear channel against the passage ofthe pressurized fluid, and
 5. packing materials being inserted betweeneach slidable sealing box and its casing to control the lateral width ofthe fibrous materials, and
 5. packing materials being inserted betweeneach slidable sealing box, and its casing to control the lateral widthof the fibrous materials.
 5. each casing being provided with openingsfor injecting another auxiliary sealing fluid from the outside.
 6. Anapparatus according to claim 1, wherein said sliding means is actuatedby an air cylinder.
 6. each casing being provided with openings forinjecting another auxiliary sealing fluid from the outside.
 7. Anapparatus according to claim 2, wherein said sliding means is actuatedby an air cylinder.
 8. An apparatus according to claim 3, wherein saidsliding means is actuated by an air cylinder.
 9. An apparatus accordingto claim 4, wherein said sliding means is actuated by an air cylinder.10. An apparatus according to claim 5, wherein said sliding means isactuated by an air cylinder.